Fort Dodge, Iowa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fort Dodge, Iowa
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Central Avenue
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| Motto(s):
Frontier of the Future
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Location in the State of Iowa
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| Country | United States | ||||
| State |  Iowa |
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| County | Webster | ||||
| Incorporated | 1869 | ||||
| Area | |||||
| • Total | 16.27 sq mi (42.15 km2) | ||||
| • Land | 16.01 sq mi (41.46 km2) | ||||
| • Water | 0.27 sq mi (0.69 km2) | ||||
| Elevation | 1,155 ft (352 m) | ||||
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 24,871 | ||||
| • Density | 1,553.66/sq mi (599.87/km2) | ||||
| Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) | ||||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) | ||||
| ZIP code |
50501
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| Area code(s) | 515 | ||||
| FIPS code | 19-28515 | ||||
| GNIS feature ID | 0456686 | ||||
Fort Dodge is a city in Webster County, Iowa, United States. It is the main city of the county and is located along the Des Moines River. In 2020, about 24,871 people lived there. Fort Dodge is an important business hub for central and northwest Iowa. You can find it along U.S. Routes 20 and 169.
Contents
History of Fort Dodge
Fort Dodge began in 1850 when Captain Samuel Woods and his soldiers built a fort. They arrived on August 2, 1850, at the spot where the Des Moines River and Lizard Creek meet.
The fort was first called Fort Clarke. But its name was changed to Fort Dodge because another fort in Texas had the same name. It was named after Henry Dodge, who was a governor of the Wisconsin Territory. Iowa was part of this territory before it became a state in 1846. The Army left the fort in 1853.
The next year, William Williams, who ran a store at the fort, bought the land and buildings. The town of Fort Dodge was officially started in 1869.
In 1872, the city's long history of making products from gypsum began. Gypsum is a soft mineral. George Ringland, Webb Vincent, and Stillman T. Meservey started the Fort Dodge Plaster Mills. They were the first to mine and prepare gypsum for sale west of the Mississippi River.
Fort Dodge is sometimes called "Little Chicago." This is because many buildings downtown were designed to look like those in Chicago in the mid-1900s.
Geography and Climate
Fort Dodge is located at 42°30′25″N 94°10′50″W / 42.50694°N 94.18056°W, right by the Des Moines River.
The city covers about 16.31 square miles (42.24 square kilometers). Most of this area is land, with a small part being water.
Weather in Fort Dodge
Fort Dodge has a Humid continental climate. This means it has cold winters and hot, humid summers.
| Climate data for Fort Dodge, Iowa (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1899–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 66 (19) |
67 (19) |
88 (31) |
100 (38) |
106 (41) |
104 (40) |
110 (43) |
109 (43) |
103 (39) |
95 (35) |
87 (31) |
69 (21) |
110 (43) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 46.9 (8.3) |
51.1 (10.6) |
69.9 (21.1) |
82.2 (27.9) |
89.1 (31.7) |
91.7 (33.2) |
92.8 (33.8) |
90.5 (32.5) |
88.6 (31.4) |
82.5 (28.1) |
67.9 (19.9) |
51.8 (11.0) |
94.2 (34.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 25.5 (−3.6) |
30.5 (−0.8) |
43.9 (6.6) |
58.8 (14.9) |
69.9 (21.1) |
79.7 (26.5) |
82.7 (28.2) |
80.3 (26.8) |
74.2 (23.4) |
61.3 (16.3) |
45.1 (7.3) |
31.3 (−0.4) |
56.9 (13.8) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 16.4 (−8.7) |
21.0 (−6.1) |
33.8 (1.0) |
46.8 (8.2) |
58.7 (14.8) |
69.0 (20.6) |
72.4 (22.4) |
69.9 (21.1) |
62.3 (16.8) |
49.5 (9.7) |
35.1 (1.7) |
22.7 (−5.2) |
46.5 (8.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 7.4 (−13.7) |
11.5 (−11.4) |
23.8 (−4.6) |
34.8 (1.6) |
47.5 (8.6) |
58.4 (14.7) |
62.0 (16.7) |
59.5 (15.3) |
50.5 (10.3) |
37.7 (3.2) |
25.1 (−3.8) |
14.1 (−9.9) |
36.0 (2.2) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −13.7 (−25.4) |
−8.8 (−22.7) |
2.2 (−16.6) |
21.1 (−6.1) |
34.3 (1.3) |
47.1 (8.4) |
52.4 (11.3) |
50.2 (10.1) |
35.7 (2.1) |
23.2 (−4.9) |
8.5 (−13.1) |
−6.3 (−21.3) |
−17.1 (−27.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −35 (−37) |
−30 (−34) |
−22 (−30) |
6 (−14) |
21 (−6) |
34 (1) |
42 (6) |
35 (2) |
20 (−7) |
−4 (−20) |
−9 (−23) |
−26 (−32) |
−35 (−37) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.95 (24) |
1.23 (31) |
1.96 (50) |
3.72 (94) |
4.57 (116) |
5.53 (140) |
4.20 (107) |
4.26 (108) |
2.81 (71) |
2.55 (65) |
1.85 (47) |
1.46 (37) |
35.09 (891) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 8.6 (22) |
11.8 (30) |
5.6 (14) |
1.5 (3.8) |
0.4 (1.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.4 (1.0) |
2.8 (7.1) |
7.9 (20) |
39.0 (99) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 6.3 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 9.9 | 13.1 | 11.2 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 8.0 | 7.5 | 5.7 | 7.1 | 100.6 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 4.9 | 5.3 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 5.0 | 21.3 |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
People of Fort Dodge
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 672 | — | |
| 1870 | 3,095 | 360.6% | |
| 1880 | 3,586 | 15.9% | |
| 1890 | 4,871 | 35.8% | |
| 1900 | 12,162 | 149.7% | |
| 1910 | 15,543 | 27.8% | |
| 1920 | 19,347 | 24.5% | |
| 1930 | 21,895 | 13.2% | |
| 1940 | 22,904 | 4.6% | |
| 1950 | 25,115 | 9.7% | |
| 1960 | 28,399 | 13.1% | |
| 1970 | 31,263 | 10.1% | |
| 1980 | 29,423 | −5.9% | |
| 1990 | 25,894 | −12.0% | |
| 2000 | 25,136 | −2.9% | |
| 2010 | 25,206 | 0.3% | |
| 2020 | 24,871 | −1.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
In 2020, there were 24,871 people living in Fort Dodge. There were 9,946 households and 5,428 families. The city had about 1,554 people per square mile.
Most of the people (83.3%) were White. About 7.0% were Black or African American, and 6.8% were Hispanic or Latino.
The average age in the city was 38.3 years. About 24.9% of the people were under 20 years old.
Economy and Jobs
Fort Dodge has several important industries. These include making biofuels, livestock feed, and products from gypsum and limestone. They also make cans, drywall, and medicines for animals. Trucking and retail are also big parts of the economy.
Gypsum rock is turned into drywall and plaster at factories in Fort Dodge. Did you know that drywall was invented by someone from Fort Dodge? Also, the gypsum used for the famous Cardiff Giant hoax (a fake giant statue) came from Fort Dodge.
Fort Dodge is home to Fort Dodge Animal Health. This company makes medicines and vaccines for veterinarian use.
Many trucking companies are based in Fort Dodge, especially those that carry drywall. The city is also a major shopping center for North-Central Iowa.
For much of the 1900s, meatpacking was a big industry here. However, the last large meatpacking plants closed in the 1980s.
The Fort Dodge Correctional Facility, a state prison, opened in 1998.
Arts and Culture in Fort Dodge
Historical Places and Museums
The Fort Museum and Frontier Village is on the edge of Fort Dodge. It's a full-size copy of a military outpost from the 1800s. It also has a recreated village from that time. The museum also has a copy of the Cardiff Giant, which was a famous fake statue made from gypsum found in Fort Dodge.
Every year, "Frontier Days" is held at the Fort Museum. It includes a parade, a beauty pageant, and historical reenactments.
The Blanden Memorial Art Museum is the first public art museum in Iowa. It opened in 1932. You can see European and American art, including prints, sculptures, and paintings. The museum also offers art classes for kids and adults.
Music Scene
Fort Dodge has many music groups. These include a civic choir, a city band, and a regional symphony orchestra.
Shellabration is a yearly rock concert held in late July or early August. It features famous rock bands like Styx and REO Speedwagon.
The Lizard Creek Blues Society hosts an annual blues festival called "Blues Under the Trees." It brings blues musicians from all over the United States.
Fort Dodge is known as the "Live Music Capital of Iowa." Many local artists and bands perform here.
Theater and Performances
Theater and musical theater are very popular in Fort Dodge. There are three different theater groups. Hawkeye Community Theatre puts on six plays each year. Comedia Musica Players performs a musical every fall. Stage Door Productions offers theater training for students during the summer.
The local high schools and community college also put on a student musical each spring. The Fort Dodge Senior High School musical is the longest-running high school musical tradition in the United States, starting in 1927.
Parks and Fun Activities
Fort Dodge has many parks and places for fun.
- Oleson Park has woods and hiking trails. It also has a recently fixed-up band shell.
- Snell-Crawford Park is popular for weekend fun. It has a disc golf course, volleyball courts, and trails for walking or biking.
- Rosedale Rapids is a new aquatic center that opened in 2010. It has swimming pools, water slides, and a lazy river.
- John F. Kennedy Park is a great place for camping. It has a large campground, a lake with a swimming beach, and hiking trails. The Lakeside Municipal Golf Course is also here.
- The Gypsum City Off-Highway Vehicle Park opened in 2006. It's a large park for off-road vehicles, built on old gypsum mines.
- Fort Dodge is a top spot for tubing on the Lizard Creek and the Des Moines River.
- The Fort Dodge Country Club has a golf course that is considered one of the best in Iowa.
- Fort Frenzy opened in 2013. It offers family activities like an arcade, bumper boats, mini golf, go karts, and bowling.
Education in Fort Dodge
Fort Dodge is home to the main campus of Iowa Central Community College.
The city's public schools are part of the Fort Dodge Community School District. This includes Fort Dodge Senior High School (grades 9-12), Fort Dodge Middle School (grades 5-8), and several elementary schools. There are also private schools like St. Edmond (Preschool-12) and Community Christian School (Preschool-8).
Fort Dodge often hosts state championship events for high school sports. For example, the cross country championships are held at John F. Kennedy Park. Fort Dodge also hosts the Iowa girls' softball championship tournament.
Media and News
Fort Dodge has several radio stations, including AM and FM stations. You can find news, country music, classic rock, and more.
The city also has a local PBS television station, KTIN 21.
For print news, Fort Dodge has Fort Dodge Messenger, which is a daily newspaper.
Getting Around Fort Dodge
Roads and Buses
U.S. Route 20 goes around the south side of Fort Dodge, and U.S. 169 goes along the west side. Both highways have local routes that go through the city.
DART (Dodger Area Rapid Transit) runs six local bus routes. These buses connect to most shopping, medical, and school locations on weekdays.
Jefferson Bus lines also serves Fort Dodge, connecting travelers to other bus routes.
Airport
The Fort Dodge Regional Airport (FOD) is just north of the city. It is mainly used for smaller, private planes.
Sister City
Fort Dodge has one sister city:
- Gjakova, Kosovo
Images for kids
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Oleson Park Music Pavilion
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Wahkonsa Hotel
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First United Methodist Church
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Abandoned Ferris wheel, now located in Eagle Grove, Iowa
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Abandoned Rosedale Dairy, once manufacturer of Eskimo Pies
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Downtown Ghost sign
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Hawkeye Theatre
Notable People
- Lew Anderson (1922–2006), the last Clarabell the Clown on Howdy Doody
- Samuel Z. Arkoff (1918–2002), a producer of "B movies" (lower-budget films)
- Cyrus Clay Carpenter (1829–1898), a former Governor of Iowa
- Nick Collison (1980–present), a professional basketball player
- William Greehey (1936–present), a businessman who founded Valero Energy
- Thomas Heggen, author of Mister Roberts, which became a play and a movie
- Karl King, a famous band conductor and composer
- Corita Kent, an artist, social activist, and nun
- Katie Porter, a member of the United States House of Representatives
- Daniel Rhodes, a ceramic artist and author
- Bill Tilghman, a famous lawman and gunslinger
See also
In Spanish: Fort Dodge (Iowa) para niños
